You CAN help without resorting to nastyness - 8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario ROM Development

I am putting this in this thread because this is where i see it happen most. As a community i find xda extremely helpfull, but more and more i see "senior" members ranting and going off at new users. Too often i see "Learn to use the search function" where a simple yet clear answer would have had the desired effect, keeping users ON this community instead of them having to look for help elsewhere.
I really wish ppl would stop being complete idiots and always ragging on new ppl . Not everyone is a tech geek, not everyone knows everything.. doesnt cost anything to try and help someone here !!
I have had my 2c worth .. and i am certain i am not the only one who hates reading through posts containing this kind of behaviour

Thanks for your words Cornelha, by the way, WizFlo 2D was the first ROM I flashed
to my Wizard.
As you said, many are not tech geeks, just end users trying to improve the use
and functions of their devices, learning some new tech in the process.
I wish I can cook ROM's, port other devices aplications, hex edit, patch files or
program new aplications, but that really is not my field. Just try to help new
or any user with issues I may have already gone through.
Thanks again.

Some ideas for solutions
I've been on the fora/ums for a few years now, and not that it makes me an expert, but I've had lots of chances to see people go off on other people here.
You're right. People can be just as rude and mean here as any I've seen anywhere.
There's a gap of understanding on both sides. The oldies have forgetten how difficult it is to find ones way around these forums. It's not intuitive, you really do need to spend a fair amount of time figuring out how they work, who's where, how to find help and all that. It's big (and like a Massachusetts buidling that's been added on to, and nothing old has been torn down, so it's convoluted). Just because you know your way around doesn't mean someone else does. And there's no orientation. None.
It really makes sense to just turn around and ask your question to of the guy next to you, just like real life. Here's the kicker. This isn't like the being on the train. Newbies have no idea how much time, effort, space a "simple" question takes in a not-so-simple environment, and go firing off questions that totally don't fit the discussion. It's disruptive. It takes up a lot of server space INCLUDING THIS THREAD. If you are met with rudeness, it might behoove you to take a look at what it is you did to set off the rudeness. It probably isn't what you did, directly. Most of the time what you're doing would be fine in a usual environment, but no action is context-free.
My idea for immediate solution is for oldies (techies, whatever) to direct the newbies in the right direction. Don't answer the question or they'll keep asking in the wrong places. Don't be rude or angry at someone for being inexperienced, just make a point of giving them the tools/info they need so they get the experience. Links are fine, but it would probably be better to describe, politely, what to do/search for so they can get the hang of it themselves. It might also help to cushion it a bit, and say something like "getting around XDA is harder than it might seem at first. You'll need some patience."
Long term? I think the forum needs a format revamp, or at least some sort of front end for inexperienced users. Something that makes a search both not-a-choice, and easy, like so many support branches of websites force you to check the FAQ and knowledge bases before anyone will address your question directly.
So, nuf said.
MOD, please move this here
EDIT: This sounds a lot *****ier than I meant it to. My apologies. It takes a lot of growing up to have the patience required to maintain civility in the face of a gap, any gap, including this one.
Techie or Newbie, try to remember that an Orchestra playing a ballet is no reason to get up and start dancing: check your context before you act. Think before you type.

Related

My suggestion for information overload...

I've been following the forums for about a year, when I flashed an 8525, and now I have a tilt. Flashed to a new att rom, and just on Monday flashed to a wm6.1 rom. But there are a lot of rom's to choose from.
I propose that we create a sticky, with a listing of all the rom's, so that its easier on everyone, to find the data. No more need for flames, for folks that find the data and exchange a bit daunting.
In this sticky, I'd also propose that key attrtibutes of each rom, be used for comparison. Like, for example, whether OneNote is included, what programs are behind the HTC home, what colors are the primary interface (I personally dislike black, and love blue), what radio is suggested, and what additional software is included. Or what media player is the primary one. HTC's Audio manager sounds good, but... it plays disc's in Alphabetical order and not track order like WMP. I like track order best.
I'd also suggest that there be links to screenshots.
I just think it would have helped me make a better choice of rom's, or to really evaluate what my needs are, as opposed to the creator's needs.
To me its like car shopping.
zibbie said:
I've been following the forums for about a year, when I flashed an 8525, and now I have a tilt. Flashed to a new att rom, and just on Monday flashed to a wm6.1 rom. But there are a lot of rom's to choose from.
I propose that we create a sticky, with a listing of all the rom's, so that its easier on everyone, to find the data. No more need for flames, for folks that find the data and exchange a bit daunting.
In this sticky, I'd also propose that key attrtibutes of each rom, be used for comparison. Like, for example, whether OneNote is included, what programs are behind the HTC home, what colors are the primary interface (I personally dislike black, and love blue), what radio is suggested, and what additional software is included. Or what media player is the primary one. HTC's Audio manager sounds good, but... it plays disc's in Alphabetical order and not track order like WMP. I like track order best.
I'd also suggest that there be links to screenshots.
I just think it would have helped me make a better choice of rom's, or to really evaluate what my needs are, as opposed to the creator's needs.
To me its like car shopping.
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There was a thread like this. It was created by a mod and it's in a sticky. Why does no one read it? Because it stopped being updated for one reason or another...
List of Kaiser Rom Threads and Download Links...First Page...Last Page ...First Unread Post
There is also a page on the wiki, which can be updated by anyone. If you're serious about your suggestions, how about making them. Remember to keep it unbiased. You can start here: Available Cooked ROM Versions
Perhaps your thread, sir, is redundant.
*wonders why nobody reads the threads any more...*
jarek91 said:
Perhaps your thread, sir, is redundant.
*wonders why nobody reads the threads any more...*
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I totally agreed with you.
How many of these "I have a suggestion" type of threads are we going to have??? OMG! Maybe we should have a "I have a suggestion" sub-section!
LOL. _ALEX_ you famous. 2 posts and both quote you. LOL. I'm loving this. And people said I was just a mean person and I should learn to help. I see others are now starting to become fed up with all the BS that goes on lately.
TO the OP (original poster/in case you didn't know)
PLease read the sticky
Well I have read it...
and I didn't see a comparison chart of each release, and the relative merits of any of the software.
But that's ok, because in your eyes, I'm a noob, and therefore common respect, really isn't even offered, or even expected. Its just a way for you all to complain.
I've read the wiki, or I wouldn't have been able to flash the rom, or get a new radio. Or themes.
It was only a suggestion, one I never thought you'd go with, because then you can't have the tiered society. Us noobs, aren't people. In you world we are incapable of reading.
Could it be, that there is just too much info to reasonably digest, while we also hold down jobs, and live reasonable lives. Nope, that couldn't be it. Us noobs are just the whipping boys.
Got it. Loud and clear.
zibbie said:
and I didn't see a comparison chart of each release, and the relative merits of any of the software.
But that's ok, because in your eyes, I'm a noob, and therefore common respect, really isn't even offered, or even expected. Its just a way for you all to complain.
I've read the wiki, or I wouldn't have been able to flash the rom, or get a new radio. Or themes.
It was only a suggestion, one I never thought you'd go with, because then you can't have the tiered society. Us noobs, aren't people. In you world we are incapable of reading.
Could it be, that there is just too much info to reasonably digest, while we also hold down jobs, and live reasonable lives. Nope, that couldn't be it. Us noobs are just the whipping boys.
Got it. Loud and clear.
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I didn't whip you at all in this thread. I just want to see less suggestions and more actual work. Have at the 'Available Cooked ROMs' page and OWN it.
I think everyone else is reading my recent bunch of posts and thinkng I'm just trashing everyone, when I'm not... I'm just being really honest in my posts and holding nothing back...
EDIT2: The quickest way for your suggestions to be put into place is to DO IT YOURSELF.
(edit3) It's the reason why I stopped asking if I should create a rollup sticky or update the wiki. Just like good old Bo Jackson, I followed the creedo of JUST DO IT. (Copyright Nike - please don't sue me...)
zibbie said:
and I didn't see a comparison chart of each release, and the relative merits of any of the software.
But that's ok, because in your eyes, I'm a noob, and therefore common respect, really isn't even offered, or even expected. Its just a way for you all to complain.
I've read the wiki, or I wouldn't have been able to flash the rom, or get a new radio. Or themes.
It was only a suggestion, one I never thought you'd go with, because then you can't have the tiered society. Us noobs, aren't people. In you world we are incapable of reading.
Could it be, that there is just too much info to reasonably digest, while we also hold down jobs, and live reasonable lives. Nope, that couldn't be it. Us noobs are just the whipping boys.
Got it. Loud and clear.
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Click to collapse
what about my post was whipping you? I even said please. Now to be honest, who is going to have the time to write up a visual chart of what has what and what doesn't ROM. I suggest, go to each individual Rom and write down "What I like" & "What I don't like" and go from there. Everything on here is provided for free. Alex didn't have to create a kitchen with tutorails for people to cook, but he took the initiative. The chef's didn't have to release their roms for everyone to use, criticize and tear apart but they took the initiative and did so.
Now, my suggestion is if you want something like you stated in your OP, why don't you take the initiative and create it instead of offering a suggestion and hoping someone else will create it for you. I'm sure some would appreciate it even.
<<steps down from soapbox now.
zibbie said:
and I didn't see a comparison chart of each release, and the relative merits of any of the software.
But that's ok, because in your eyes, I'm a noob, and therefore common respect, really isn't even offered, or even expected. Its just a way for you all to complain.
I've read the wiki, or I wouldn't have been able to flash the rom, or get a new radio. Or themes.
It was only a suggestion, one I never thought you'd go with, because then you can't have the tiered society. Us noobs, aren't people. In you world we are incapable of reading.
Could it be, that there is just too much info to reasonably digest, while we also hold down jobs, and live reasonable lives. Nope, that couldn't be it. Us noobs are just the whipping boys.
Got it. Loud and clear.
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Click to collapse
Actually, sir, what I said was this post was redundant because we already have a recent and active thread about this very subject. However, since you insist on having this conversation in the redundant thread rather than the actual thread I've already linked to...
The issue with your suggestion is "relative merits". This is going to vary widely depending on who you talk to. I hate GPS Tool and love GPSTest. I like HTC Home and threaded SMS. I can't stand the HTC Calculator but love 1Calc. Guess how many people disagree with my likes/dislikes... Yeah...most every has some different ones. So how, pray tell, are we to make you a chart with those merits?
As for the list of programs included, sorry but have you seen the first posts of the release threads? That chart would be 200 pages long to include all of that. I know it's a lot of information, but honestly the best way to do it is have a list of links to the ROMs and let you click on each and read just the first post or two by the chef. Then you can determine for yourself which one has features/apps you are interested in. By pure coincidence, I have an updated version of the Cooked ROMs wiki I'll be putting in place in a few hours that has the list of roms by OS version, then by Chef, then by date. That should make it a bit easier to navigate the information.
And to reiterate _Alex_'s statement...this is a forum and we have a wiki...if you see something is missing that would help...then work on it yourself. Let others know it's there and you'll probably even get help with getting it tweaked out and chocked full of info. This whole place is here because of community input. Offer something back.
It's not that you are a n00b that we get snippy. We all were/are (depending on how you look at it). At least not from my point of view. It's that while we're talking about how to deal with redundant threads...you make one. Others may have different reasons for acting the way they do towards you, but that is the entirety of my reasons for my actions.

Extreme Noobs Read Now - I Did It!!!

A BLOND FEMALE EXTREME NOOB DID IT!
My friends said I couldn’t do it. Mostly my male friends. All my girl friends supported me, but the general consensus was being female and being blond, I would have a hard time. LOL Well, I started by reading, reading, reading and READING on here for the past few weeks and finally got my ATT&T tilt a yesterday. I read and studied so much on this forum, I was practically bursting at the seams to put into practice what I had been studying night and day for the last 3 weeks or so. I also want to say THANKS THANKS THANKS to this forum and all who participate especially the moderators and senior members who read and wade with suspicious eyes (will this be a redundant post, they think), but who also assuage with empathetic concern for the worn out and battered, but otherwise persevered noob. I DID IT! I DID IT!
Like all mentors, they try to instill in all noobs like me a virtual sense of responsibility and accomplishment by not giving up information so readily and thus fostering a sense of, ‘pull yourself up by your own bootstraps’ kind of reasoning as they have been there and done that and you have not. Depending on your situation, this can be either good news or bad news. For those like me with a fundamental understanding and an ounce of technical aptitude, it is certainly good news. For others, it’s an emotional roller coaster ride and I feel sorry for all who go through such hell. KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES AND LIMITATIONS! If you buy a phone you have no business owning because you think it’s cool looking only to find out that it’s really meant for the corporate power user variety and those who possess a higher than normal level of gadgetry prowess, what do you expect? Add to that , if you’re not technically savvy enough to operate it and install everything, what would be the point because eventually you would realize all you really have is an expensive phone and how you keep wishing you could get it to look like the ATT&T tilts you see on you tube.
I THINK I AM THE MOST EXTREME NOOB OUT THERE AND I AM FEMALE AND BLOND….TWO STEREOTYPES IN ONE!!
BUT…I was able to do it all on my own (Kicked boyfriend to the curb several weeks prior so didn’t want to ask him) with the exception of one thing which I have been working on and will continue to work on until all options are exhausted. Then I will post. I am 98% done and I chose Dutty’s 6.1. I really like it. I got through the white screen, made it through the compatible radio thingy, changed my military clock to regular (I’ve seen many posts on this), I installed he keyboard fix, enabled touchflo (I love it!) and so much more. I have one more pretty important thing I need to do, but as I said, I will keep reading before I post on here. Probably something I did.
I wanted to post on here so badly yesterday while I was installing just like everyone else does, but unlike those who do post, I decided to just keep at it and kept on reading and learning. I am soooo glad I did because now the whole install means more to me. I mean, I appreciate it more, the process. If you're just given something, how can you really respect or appreciate the accomplishment or end result?
THE ANSWERS ARE OUT THERE. Yes. It does take some due diligence on your part, but damn, you are getting this invaluable information for FREE. Free I tell you. What more do you want? All that is required is your time and willingness to learn. Has the fabric of society weakened so much that it has generated a new breed of lazy? Seriously? Could it be as simple as stupid is stupid or how about even willing stupidity? You either have the mental capacity to process and implement the information or you do not. It’s that simple. Period. I try to know the technical ins and outs of Quantum Mechanics which is why you would never see me lecturing on the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics and their applied actions in the world of physics. I do know however, that riding a bike downhill will cause it to go faster and that each step I take forward puts me one step closer than the previous and pretty soon if I keep putting each foot in front of the other and walking, I’ll end up where I want to be. Having no or limited knowledge, I could end up in a rough area of town or because I have knowledge of the geographic area, it would likely be that shoe store who is having the amazing sale - Two different places and two different outcomes. One would lead to my own personal happiness (the shoe store sale) and the other to a potential statistic depending on the area of town you happen find yourself. You choose.
And to add a little further bit of my scintillating educational content to this subject, I’ll bring out the, "How to tell if something is complicated and over your head, even without understanding it, in case you can't be convinced by the fact that it actually IS complicated and over your head" kit. Opening the box, I take out two long, bare copper wires, and I put one in each of your hands. Onto my own hands I put thick rubber gloves. Now, I turn to you and demand, "Explain electricity", which is, you gotta admit, simple enough if you understand anything about electricity. But if you get it even partially wrong (with grammar and posture counting towards your total points!), I cruelly jam the other ends of those copper wires into the wall electrical outlet and let the local power company give you (zzzzt!) the lesson of your stupid life about how complicated things which are over your head and you know nothing about can be very frustrating and expensive for you! Not just with this phone, but in life. Remember that.
Finally, I want to say thank you again. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
I am a firm believer in determination. Sweat equity, pays dividends and the feeling of accomplishment waving over me at this moment dwarfs the learning curve and frustration involved with doing it on my own. It can be scary. Anything first new or foreign is scary to a person; A new job, a new relationship, etc. It is only once you become proficient that you wonder how you were ever afraid of falling off in the first place.
Just some good food for thought!
~GWEN
May I be the first to say Congrats. Read this n00bs. It can be done.
Will you marry me?
gwen, just to let you know
jarek is gay j/k - hes just a little cranky.
With an avatar like that, what else could he be hehehe JK.
Well done gwen. and welcone to the community
ciao
Joao.
P1Tater said:
gwen, just to let you know
jarek is gay j/k - hes just a little cranky.
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nm
gg
Welll....I am still having problems and I am not a noob....OR SO I THOUGHT.
I did a HARD-SPL successfully but I cannot load Dutty's ROM. Error [240] Update Utility is not correct.
I have looked everywhere and cannot find this....
Anyways....congrats and I am going back to looking!!
Gwen,
I LOVE YOU!!!
Fabulous first post, if you are ever in the Chicago Area (which means anywhere in the North Eastern quarter of Illinois) PM me and I'll by you a drink of whatever it is you fancy!
amazing...you didn't post a new thread on why your sound wasn't working when flashing new dutty rom. Good job and welcome.
Now lets see you cook your own rom.
nv00021 said:
Welll....I am still having problems and I am not a noob....OR SO I THOUGHT.
I did a HARD-SPL successfully but I cannot load Dutty's ROM. Error [240] Update Utility is not correct.
I have looked everywhere and cannot find this....
Anyways....congrats and I am going back to looking!!
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Click to collapse
Good post Gwen just what we all think when we see duplicate posts in the same topic asking the same things. We are all proud of you! Good luck.
**Try flashing the rom via microSD - copy RUU_signed to root of your microSD and rename "KAISIMG.nbh" Reboot, whilst pressing power and camera buttons to go into bootloader and it'll list what is contained in the KAISIMG.nbh (i.e. Radio, Splash, OS) Press "power" to start process. Once complete soft-reset (Do a hard-reset to clear any little niggles) Done. I found this out thanks to vip_snoopy. This way you iliminate the need to use the update utility. This is the only way I flash now (Splash screens, radios and imgs), You can store several roms all with the name (KAISIMG.nbh) on your storage card (in different folders/perhaps using descriptions) then use file manager to copy the one I want to root of microSD and then flash on the go!! **Best to make sure battery is over 50% though.**
Hope this helps in letting you flash Dutty's Rom, worked for me. Thanks and credit to vip_snoopy.
diigibio (Phil)
Cool and smart (can tell by the fact that you wanted to and did it by yourself and that you can write correct and complete sentences)? Gwen, you're going to be in trouble with all the hounds around here
Just watch out. It's an addiction. I went from where you are to being obsessed with cooking my own "perfect" ROM in just a couple of months.
Welcome and congrats.
Congrats... Anything is possible with a little peepee .......No, idiot, Patience & persistence!
You're an asset to the forum because you read, listened, & learned. According to some of the posts I see (& some of the bricks I help save) this concept i consider common sense, apparently is not so...
BTW, if someone like Hillary can run for Pres., I certainly see no issue with flashing. In fact one of the best s/w engineers (mostly reverse) I know is a woman.
OMG!
SkunkyGwen said:
A BLOND FEMALE EXTREME NOOB DID IT!
[lots of stuff deleted]
~GWEN
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In recent months, I've wondered how many females frequent this forum. Mostly because there have been lots of assumptions in the text of the messages that have been assuming everyone here is male. Nothing bad, just a simple use of the word "he" when referring to someone when there is no indication of gender to ensure accuracy.
I thought about it a bit more a few times wondering how this type of phone would appeal to females. So, I wonder if this post is authentic? Doesn't really matter to me, but it may be a little embarrassing for the dudes who have used words like "love" and "marry" in thier responses.
I few things seem a bit off....
Lots of text off subject, perhaps to support the stereotype for the claim of being blonde.
Lots of text in general, perhaps to support the stereotype of being female.
Most strange is the use of the word "female", when in most cases the use of this word seems so clinical to woman or girls.
Oh, wait! the name "skunkygwen" is so, like - not nice, I don't get it.
Anyway, just still wondering...
Increasing my Endorphins
Awww. Thanks Guys. I feel really good. I feel like I know P1Tater and Jarek91 as well as a few others just by matter of happenstance. I love some of the posts and the creative ways this forum alerts those who post to read first before asking, For instance, Jarek’s “Hey Flame Bait, read this” or the link to the ninja accessories and throwing stars. It made my searches both comedic and tolerable and kept me going knowing I would run across similarly arranged responses from Senior Members to Noobs. Jarek’s form of sarcasm which resides in countless, countless threads was refreshing and kept me laughing. From other colorful responses from senior members like P1Tater to straight shooters like _Alex_ , they make these intense searches you have to do and all the information intake bearable and if you truly do your homework and I mean truly put in the time which is mandatory, any answer you haven’t found in these forums will be answered when you post it or at least a reference to it that you may have missed. It is only the posts which these moderators and senior members have seen time after time after time, that they do not respond and when they do respond, it is in an aggressive teaching kind of way. It’s so obvious. They’re not being rude. They look at these posts EVERYDAY! How many times would you need to read something knowing that it’s been asked and answered a thousand times before? More importantly, with your limited time schedule coupled with volunteering on these boards, how long would it take you to become callus to pretty much anyone who asked such questions without even doing the most basic research yourself. Please tell me these same people are not voters.
~GWEN
P.S. I happen to like Jarek’s avatar. I’ll have to get me one too.
HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP
I was going to wait to post this, but I have been looking for the fix to get videos to work on the internet. Now before you get all disappointed and think that I am not practicing what I preach, it should be noted that I have read every available post that I know of on this subject on this forum and still cannot get it to work. It did initially work with the flashed Dutty’s 6.1 ROM.
After initially flashing Dutty’s 6.1 (I did the hard reset and restored after the flash at the alignment screen), I installed the TCP and Flashvideo next, set up my other settings and everything worked fine. No problem. Youtube videos – yep. CNN videos – A-Okay ANY INTERNET VIDEO – Good to Go - Then I got all confident like and with the feeling of Girl Power coursing through my veins, I pushed ever more forward and started messing with other customizable settings and such. You know how it is, right? LOL At one point I had my voltage meter in the upper part of the screen, my processor speed, the tray launch, etc. LOL I went so far that the little ‘ActionScreen’ at the bottom left said something like windows/ht… and that was it. It still functioned properly, but I got to the point where I needed to do a hard reset which I did and then I installed everything again from that point (TCP, Video, keyboard fix, etc). Ever since I got confident and messed with settings, I now cannot get youtube video (I had it before). I cannot get any video on the internet for that matter whereas before I started messing around, I could. I cannot get it from CNN, CBS, Youtube, etc. I have read the posts BELIEVE ME I HAVE.
Do you think re-flashing Dutty’s 6.1 ROM from my computer would fix this error or should I go back to the OEM ATT first and then back to Dutty’s 6.1 again? Do you think it could be a simple setting in my connections? I checked them and they looked okay. I mean ,the video worked fine yesterday. I thought it was maybe due to the fact that I thought I had customized the phone to the point of hard resetting which I did. Maybe that has something to do with it?
I feel dirty for even posting this questions and am disappointed at myself if the solution lies within these forums and if it is a thread I have not seen yet because I have been looking!!!
Thanks,
~Gwen
Someone did something Not sure what they did but it was something like I said right? All the men on here are pervs 75% of the comments back to the OP had some mention of "stereotyping" knock it!
install Skunkworks Flash video bundle then TCMP player should be fine. Or just use coreplayer 1.2
tomsenna said:
I thought about it a bit more a few times wondering how this type of phone would appeal to females. So, I wonder if this post is authentic? Doesn't really matter to me, but it may be a little embarrassing for the dudes who have used words like "love" and "marry" in thier responses.
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Hey, "What happens in the forum stays in the forum"...
Why be so uptight, I couldn't care less if Gwen is really Skunky or Skunky is really Gwen, bottom line is a Noobie accomplished something and we're happy.
Join the party or go home but don't piss in the punch bowl on your way out!
have u set your file associations in tcpmp?
SkunkyGwen said:
HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP – HELP
........
........
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use the search you noob!!
j/k i dont even know wat problem are u having......that was way too long a description, i spaced out after the 1st paragraph......anyways i saw something about a reflashing to get something to work........you dont have to reflash, just do a hard reset. but before that, maybe just try reinstalling watever it was thats giving you problems
Gwen...You are my favourite nOOb
welcome to XDA
and you dont sound like a stereotype to me.
Im happy that you like it here, and im sure you will add a "touch of fun" with the kind of attitude you show.
great post, one of the best I have read in a long long time.
cheers
All F E M A L E
I wanted to take a moment to respond to Toms insinuation that I may be of the opposite gender. Not because I have to. I really don't care, but I’ll do it anyway just to establish the pecking order since this is my first real post, albeit a brief response. Point number one, why would I post on here NOW after the fact. I already have what I need. I got it myself -98% of it anyway. I never posted on here and the hard part is over for me. If I wanted to create a ruse, it would have been for the same reasons it's already been done on here...for the purposes of gaining technical support by taking advantage of the fact that most guys are horn dogs. And on this forum as well as evidenced by so, so many of these ‘gender bender’ types of posts. I chose to stay away from posting because I am an empowered woman and I do have pride and confidence in myself and my actions.
I am going to digress now. One thing you do not know about me (Why would you) is I can get kind of hot headed at times when someone makes a judgment based on a single observation. Apparently, you do not live your life as I do....probabilistically.
I still love you Toms –
~Gwen

I bow to the obvious masters of this domain!

Hello all. I've been working with hi-tech systems for nearly 40 years but am lost when reading these posts on how to update my Kaiser to a better OS (ROM ??) with better speed and less useless 'baggage' programs. I understand the concept but the details as discussed here are just leaving me lost.
So, as I pay homage to you all who understand this I ask the following:
Is there anyone that would take my phone, update it for me, charge me some nominal fee (or accept a donation) and send it back to me? I would want it to be someone who is obviously a regular on this forum so I could have comfort that they are not scamming me.
As an alternative, is thier a posting somewhere here that is written for the tech savvy but 'phone tech' newbie.
I HAVE done many searches for information but I don't have enough info to limit the search paramaters to less than several hundred threads.
Thanx and great job to the regulars. I see alot of good sharing of info going on - I just can't understand it all.
neowyzard said:
Hello all. I've been working with hi-tech systems for nearly 40 years but am lost when reading these posts on how to update my Kaiser to a better OS (ROM ??) with better speed and less useless 'baggage' programs. I understand the concept but the details as discussed here are just leaving me lost.
So, as I pay homage to you all who understand this I ask the following:
Is there anyone that would take my phone, update it for me, charge me some nominal fee (or accept a donation) and send it back to me? I would want it to be someone who is obviously a regular on this forum so I could have comfort that they are not scamming me.
As an alternative, is thier a posting somewhere here that is written for the tech savvy but 'phone tech' newbie.
I HAVE done many searches for information but I don't have enough info to limit the search paramaters to less than several hundred threads.
Thanx and great job to the regulars. I see alot of good sharing of info going on - I just can't understand it all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is like asking someone to impregnate your wife for you, is it really any fun or satisfying if you have someone else do it ?
Just read here and all will be fun and satisfying and Mark will be happy to help with either the rom flashing or the wife
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=433835
It all depends on what your looking for too. So post back what you want and we can help you find it. It is a little overwhelming when you first get here. Took me awhile to figure it all out. But we are here to help You got Denco7s attention so you are in good hands But like i said let us know what you want. I can help you figure it out...and i know Denco will as well.
Oh, simply read some links in my sig's first line and you will start with the right footing. I have no tech background and have probably flashed at least 50 times in the last 8 months or so...
It's easy, it's fun and it burns calories too
There's plenty of Info info and guides on the wiki and in the stickies.
Just take some time to read theough them and things will start falling into place.
Dave

What happened to XDA?

I realize this isn't the most correct place to post this, but apparently, everyone should read this.
I've been involved with the xda modding community for over 4 years. When I came to xda-devs, the iphone didn't exist. Android didn't exist. WebOS didn't exist. If you wanted a "smart phone" your choices were PalmOS, Pocket PC, and a few Symbian based offerings. It's quite possible that the expense and, for lack of a better word, elitism that went with these smart phones meant that "commoners" weren't using them. Especially, they weren't modding them.
In those days, devs were respected. There certainly wasn't this big entitlement feeling that every tom, ****, and harry feel they are owed today. This site was started and grew based on people wanting to develop for these phones. We wanted them to do more. For the most part, if you didn't have anything to contribute, you understood to stfu. Even more important, if you saw a need, you worked to fill it. Many of the guys that started this community STARTED learning because of it. Sure, you'll have questions. Questions are good. The flaming of each other, the putting down of other sites, and the general dickery needs to stop.
It's sad that I look at xda with disdain these days. XDA has gone from a site that I spent most of my day on, and worked to assist where I could, to a necessary evil because I own an HTC device.
I'm thankful to all of the Android devs for their work in rooting so many phones. Thank you HTC for making a phone that works so well, I'm not completely sure I need or want to root it. Thank you XDA for providing a location where we can COLLABORATE.
To all of you kids (either by age or maturity) look up the definition of collaborate, patience, and "common decency"). Please stop being rude, and or demanding... anything. We don't need 30 extra posts to tell us "I'm Not Happy about X" or "User Y is a dork". It's useless. Put it on your myspace page, people may care there.
And to the elitists, don't knock people for thinking of an idea that someone else already tried. At least they are thinking. At least they are trying. And hopefully, they'll learn and take on the next challenge in your stead.
XC
Here-here!
Appreciation > Ego
This place is no different than any other forum, really. People are dicks everywhere.
I feel you pain, this place used to be a comminty of people all over the world, that were here to help. And we all shared one commen goal, to make our phones the best they could be. It really does sadden me to see what has happend. No body is owed anthing. and for some reson everyone feels like they are.
You used to be able to asked a question without getting flamed to death, people and devs would help you with any problem you had, and now..... its just ridiculous the way people are acting. Its not just here, its on all the android forums that i have seen. so dont think that its just here.
To everyone that has helped make this site the best, thank you. And to the rest of you, please leave go somwere else, your kind is not welcome here.
heavensblade23 said:
This place is no different than any other forum, really. People are dicks everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sad but true =/ I'm relatively new to xda, but I was really surprised about recent events, I never really expected something like that to happen on XDA.
heavensblade23 said:
This place is no different than any other forum, really. People are dicks everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
It happens on all forums, you will have fighting and issues and assholes appearing. Just got to deal with it, thats what moderators are for.
heavensblade23 said:
This place is no different than any other forum, really. People are dicks everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a choice to make things worse or better. I can see what your choice is.
anubis_dragoon said:
Sad but true =/ I'm relatively new to xda, but I was really surprised about recent events, I never really expected something like that to happen on XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happened? Someone reported something that was untrue? Or a bunch of people got excited about a sketchy report of root/a mod. That has happened a bunch on XDA. Stick around and it'll happen a bunch more. People make mistakes, hello! We had several overclocking threads that were false starts in G1/Dream. Guess what? People kept trying and eventually, it got done. The people who were *****ing, however, just produced more *****ing--and my my phone does not install non-market *****ing
Ummm...but why is this thread in the development thread?
rynosaur said:
You have a choice to make things worse or better. I can see what your choice is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not saying it's okay to act like a ****, I'm saying it's largely a lost cause. I got sick of people acting like dicks on another, general-purpose, forum, so I left to try to find some place where people were civil. I gave up when I saw someone on an Android banned for rageposting over cell phone batteries.
steb0ne said:
Ummm...but why is this thread in the development thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's here because everyone, in every area, needs to read it and take it to heart.
steb0ne said:
Ummm...but why is this thread in the development thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply because this is where XDA lost face in the eyes of many yesterday. Its not just the sites fault though. Members had a lot to do with it. I'm sure because yesterday was a holiday is the reason it took some time for the Mods to get a handle on things.
I give thanks to the OP for posting here.
Thank you XDA!!!
steb0ne said:
Ummm...but why is this thread in the development thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xcsdm said:
I realize this isn't the most correct place to post this, but apparently, everyone should read this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is very important to understand where xda came from. This site began with people that not only helped us mod our phones, but were willing to teach us to mod our phones. That way, when the next phone came out, you had more people working to mod the phone.
I put this in a developer thread because development is a large driving force behind xda.
XC
People need to learn to just report a thread instead of fighting over what's posted in it. Mods will help sort things out I'm sure. We all need to just work together on making this site better and learn from the mistakes of others. The Incredible's development will get better in time its a fairly new device if you think about it. IMO its very nice stock. Keep up the great work Devs and for those who don't dev do your part in making this site a place for ppl to want to come to share and learn.
xcsdm said:
I realize this isn't the most correct place to post this, but apparently, everyone should read this.
I've been involved with the xda modding community for over 4 years. When ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I have not really posted here much, I have been around since the Palm Treo 650 days (loved that damn phone btw) and have always had a deep sense of respect for all the developers here who dedicate their time and efforts to making a smartphone more powerful and more useful outside the stock features. Being a member of the iPhone community for so long, I have had no reason to come to these forums for quite a while so I've been out of the loop. Now that I own a droid incredible, I was led back here by a simple "how-to-root your android" Google search. Since that time, I have seen a lot of commotion about the Incredible.
I am not and never will be able to develop, write code, or become a linux genius. I have been a linux admin for years, but never had a need or want to go into development. That being said, I have always respected those who have the ability to develop software, apps, images, etc.
I think the main problem on these forums now, is too many kids and too many people who expect something to be handed to them rather than be grateful for what they are given. Then again, that's pretty much anywhere you go in the world. The only thing we can do as a community is choose how we respond to these situations. Like adults....
Thanks.
--Matt--
[/Soap box]
Sadly, I'm seeing these types of issues everywhere. The last 4-5 years has really created a new generation of people that think they can get away with saying whatever they want online. Think of it as the Myspace gen, if you will.
It's painful to say it, but honestly... it's not going to get any better.
Ruoh said:
Sadly, I'm seeing these types of issues everywhere. The last 4-5 years has really created a new generation of people that think they can get away with saying whatever they want online, and get away with it. Think of it as the Myspace gen, if you will.
It's painful to say it, but honestly... it's not going to get any better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generation T, as in toilet trained below the waist only. Their mouths seem to run constantly, and not even their spell checkers have been opened . . .
It's easy to bash wee tykes. Been happening since antiquity. Hard to root an Incredible, tho. We just need somebody to get a reman unit that still has a testing bootloader installed!
xcsdm said:
....For the most part, if you didn't have anything to contribute, you understood to stfu. Even more important, if you saw a need, you worked to fill it. Many of the guys that started this community STARTED learning because of it. Sure, you'll have questions. Questions are good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly right... And I'm one of those who kept my mouth shut as I read and learned here, respecting those who put forth the info that helped me...
xcsdm said:
....The flaming of each other, the putting down of other sites, and the general dickery needs to stop.
It's sad that I look at xda with disdain these days. XDA has gone from a site that I spent most of my day on, and worked to assist where I could, to a necessary evil because I own an HTC device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can say the same about Hofo (on which I go by a different name..)
I started there, reading, absorbing, learning.. To pay it back, I started helping others when/where I could. I eventually started a collection of instructions, and writing up info I digested to make it easier for new people to just dive in and learn to do it themselves. I even met (in person) someone I met on hofo, and we worked to create a set of repeatable processes to flash moto phones with non-VZW firmware.
I saw it go from a great site to learn, to a place you're going to get flamed, called names, disrespected, etc... Thankfully, the birth of my son took me away from my cell phone hacking and Hofo just at the right time.
As I visit this, hofo and other sites, I can't help but think they are all becoming the same... a bunch of people who feel entitled to have this or that NOW and if they don't get it, they gripe up a storm about it, call people names, etc..
Its sad.
Is it really getting that bad? I haven't signed into this site since my old PPC6700 days, so I haven't taken a look at the Entitled Generation posts, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out.
dephtones said:
Although I have not really posted here much, I have been around since the Palm Treo 650 days (loved that damn phone btw) and have always had a deep sense of respect for all the developers here who dedicate their time and efforts to making a smartphone more powerful and more useful outside the stock features. Being a member of the iPhone community for so long, I have had no reason to come to these forums for quite a while so I've been out of the loop. Now that I own a droid incredible, I was led back here by a simple "how-to-root your android" Google search. Since that time, I have seen a lot of commotion about the Incredible.
I am not and never will be able to develop, write code, or become a linux genius. I have been a linux admin for years, but never had a need or want to go into development. That being said, I have always respected those who have the ability to develop software, apps, images, etc.
I think the main problem on these forums now, is too many kids and too many people who expect something to be handed to them rather than be grateful for what they are given. Then again, that's pretty much anywhere you go in the world. The only thing we can do as a community is choose how we respond to these situations. Like adults....
Thanks.
--Matt--
[/Soap box]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMEN ! NOOBs need to read and research more rather than demanding everything be handed to them.
I think this thread is a bit dramatic. "What happened to XDA?" Well, nothing really. There's just a huge influx of new people who know just enough to be dangerous and really want root (and look at the average post count, mine is low enough but every other person I see discussing this has less than 20 posts). The Incredible is one of if not THE hot phone on the market, so I'm not surprised it's like a circus in here. Due to recent events that I will not dare mention, It's like the scene in Caddyshack when they let all the caddys swim in the pool and run all the "members" off. And over the weekend someone took a dump in the pool and caused mayhem/panic...
If the mods would get more strict - short temp bans for people who are very rude, and maybe also for people who can't stay on subject or at least delete the off subject posts, and get rid of all the "why is my battery life bad" threads then the Dev section may improve. Perhaps make a rule that says you can't post in this section unless you have a certain number of posts? I don't know. It was just a bad weekend. It will get back to normal.

[Q] terminal emulator

does anyone know how to get the "/" symbol to work in terminal emulator? i tried softkeys, special keys. No luck. Im so close to installing modaco 4.0.0.9
for the final step i need the "/" symbol. i can use the "\" symbol but that's not the right symbol. please help.
Honestly you guys, I do search alot before I post anything. I never thought to use the on screen keyboard. I found out how.. I've been on this site for days and days researching, everything. I always use the hardware keyboard. Never the on screen keyboard. (sighs...sorry)
[email protected] said:
Honestly you guys, I do search alot before I post anything. I never thought to use the on screen keyboard. I found out how.. I've been on this site for days and days researching, everything. I always use the hardware keyboard. Never the on screen keyboard. (sighs...sorry)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it is a bit of a pisser that key doesn't work correctly in terminals.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17724216&postcount=5
Lol. I did get it to flash modaco tho. Just finished back up with Titanium. Hopefully now i should be able to flash a rom. O ya... When im in Hboot the screen will tell me no image..no image.. no image..no image. It will auto run this in green all the way down the screen. Why?
[email protected] said:
Lol. I did get it to flash modaco tho. Just finished back up with Titanium. Hopefully now i should be able to flash a rom. O ya... When im in Hboot the screen will tell me no image..no image.. no image..no image. It will auto run this in green all the way down the screen. Why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All hboots do that. My g2 does that and my wifes MT4G as well.
Sent from my Undeadk9's Senseless ROM using xda premium
Undeadk9... what an honer to reply to you. I've read all your posts. I wanna flash your latest Senseless..Sounds fast. I myself would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into this forum. You do a wonderful job. Your posts and comments mean alot. I'm such a noob but love phones and cpu's. I really would love to fluently learn how to do anything that involves those things,but have no idea where to begin. What would you suggest I learn? I ask because you know what your talking about. Do you mind if i contact you in a pm or something just to bleed your brain sometime? Think about it. Thanks again!!
The problem is the question mark key.
Check all your other alt keys in terminal emulator - they all work except for the darned question mark key - both regular and alt read as a tilde.
I guess that having the question mark as a hardware key is something that terminal emulators aren't coded for...very few phones have that actual hardware key.
I got a feeling that if you remap the alt character to another key it'll work - it may or may not, but that's where i'd start.
This is one of those "I should look into that" but haven't found the time to do so, maybe check the keylayout mod guide in the dev section to start tinkering with it.
It's on my long list of things to do with this phone, my recent obsession with trying to overclock without kernel source kinda pushed everything else to the side.
Someone will probably get around to this before I do, but if not sooner or later i'll puzzle it out.
Thanx buddy for the reply!! My obsession is this forum... and my daughter of course
I hope you figure out the OC as well! Boy I wish I could help but I don't know how to. Where do you think I should start? Where should a noob begin to learn how to do anything...o_0 lol
You're honestly in the best place to start. XDA is home to some...thinking about it i'd say most... of the people online across all the random messageboards, news postings and whatnot who are all into the same thing and realize that by sharing what we know we can all work on bits and pieces of the larger picture.
Ever since I found XDA, I realized this was the place I was always looking for on the internet. Some of the most learned and skilled people i've met across the internet are scattered around these forums, and I found their works here.
The best advice to anyone new coming to XDA or trying to learn here, specifically, is that since so many people share so much, it's absolutely overwhelming the first time you wander around the XDA forums.
Use the search feature, as everyone rightly suggests, but the one thing that people never get right is managing their excitement.
You're home, you found the place where there are so many answers to and relating to your question, you get giddy. I know I did.
Resist the urge to just dive in and start asking questions. Put away your need to have the answer right now - I know it's just your nature, it's the tendency of people...any people...to just act like that. It's how we've progressed as a species, the aggresive need to know, solve, conquer...right this second.
That's wrong. When I found XDA, I browsed here for a while...sometimes for specific answers, other times just randomly through all the forums looking at...well...whatever random stuff I could find.
The thing about search is, it's great if you want a specific answer, because you keep finding more keywords and phrases to track down that will eventually lead you to the information you seek.
If you can't find the answer here at XDA, your quest to find it on your own without asking will turn up the people you could ask to help figure it out - something you miss just asking for it or exclusively using search.
Basically, just don't be too eager. The boards are way too big, populated by people that want to share what they know, so the amount of information here is too much to get through in one sitting. The first time I found this place I didn't leave my keyboard for more then a few minutes for almost 6 days.
I registered because I finally had something that I could share. My first device was the Nook Color, and by the time I got one the forums were jumping and so many choices for what you could do and how to do it were there ... it was my first android device and development was progressing so fast I couldn't keep up with learning it all from the ground up.
I stopped and focused on some topic I could expand on or in some way contribute, and it ended up being pretty in depth testing on MicroSD cards. I had a handful laying around, and running the Nook Color from the memory card instead of the internal memory will pass or fail depending on the memory card...and the one you instinctively want is wrong.
So, use the search function before posting something specific, don't forget to browse sometimes if you have some free time, it's like treasure hunting.
When I realized what this device ( MT4GS ) was capable of after coming to the MT4GS forums here to research if I really did want it or not...the TV-OUT thread was my seller. I am spellbound by this device, there's nothing else like it on the market at the moment.
I just couldn't miss out on playing with what I think will be the prototype model of what all phones will strive to do as technologies get assimilated across phones and carriers.
Being able to walk up to a TV and use the phone as not only an interactive game controller, but the console itself as well - with the TV bit being done so well that it's something you don't even have to think about other then if you want to or not. No special set up, just plug and play. I'm a fan.
But you know what? It's an unlisted feature that's rumored/probably true/unfinished in the phone.
( haven't looked into this in a while, maybe untrue but I found out about it here at XDA and remember reading that somewhere...every T-mobile rep i've seen has this phone, I talk to every one, and not a single one of them knew they could plug their device into a TV, let alone have some intense gaming experiences.
Not bad for something that's not mentioned - this should have been the selling point for the phone.
Thing is, without XDA, I wouldn't know how to do a fraction of what I know how to do with Android. Just sifting through everything here has taught me so much, but you have to have the patience to sit and take your time learning. Otherwise, even if you pull it off, six months from now you'll have to probably start over tracking down what you read before to do it again.
The more detailed and accurate the information that everyone posts, the more we all learn together.
Know what the big secret is, that I try to tell everyone?
The best way to cement the knowledge you've gained into your brain is to try to teach it to someone else. They'll think of questions you might never, approach from different perspectives with different tactics, and challenge you to know it well enough to be able to answer something you haven't thought about before on the spot.
I've been studying my whole life to be a teacher when I get older and can't hack physical stuff anymore, and try to freely teach anyone anything I know. The more I educate others, the more they educate me, and the more instinctively I know whatever we were working on.
Let me reiterate, again from a different perspective with different reasoning, the only way you learn something is to have the patience to do it - but the same goes for teaching. You have to have the patience to sit there and let the student get the answer, and the restraint to not give it to them and make them work for it so they remember it longer.
Analogies are king in getting through to people, but to be able to use analogies effectively for random people you have to be at least semi-educated on, well, everything.
Take a job in a retail store, any local big box popular electronics store. Sell computers, smart phones, or things like that. Then try to relate how the computer works to everyone you explain it to. Once you know some subject they are familiar with that you know, you can compare like functions to give them understandings.
Do yourself a favor - the next time you go to sit down in front of a television, pick up a book instead. (bonus points if you also grab a thesaurus)
Vocabulary and the contents of the thesaurus are the primary tools you need to use well for search. Forget all the ways a search engine works for you and remember that you need to not only search what you're looking for, but all the other ways of saying or describing what you want.
If you search fire, you get one set of results. What about ember, blaze, smolder, incinerate, char, smoke, fuel, tinder...etc...
If you have to look up all those synonyms every time you want to search for something, not only does it take longer (impatience again) but you are less likely to actually do it because of all the extra steps you have to take.
Phrase your posts well, try to punctualize, capitalize, and generally make what you're saying presentable. It takes me longer to decipher some internet shorthand, because they aren't acronyms I study. It hurts me on messageboards, but helps keep my vocabulary instinctively clean elsewhere.
On that turn, i'm more likely to read and/or respond to someone who actually took enough time to write their post, instead of just scratching out the first string of letters that looked close to some resemblance of the words they were trying to write.
( I know that's extreme, but that's another teaching tool, exploring extremes and understanding boundaries and capability - the foundation for your ability to reason )
So, you caught me at a time where i'm writing a curriculum for learning how to learn, techniques and approaches and such for someone I am going to start teaching android to. As much as it seems like i'm rambling here, all my postings tonight have been sprinkled with little methods or things to do to increase your speed, accuracy and ability to learn itself because that's what i'm working on right this minute.
It's been a long, hard, physical week at work. While rewarding and I feel great about what i've done, my body is not so happy at the moment. Trying to get into a new project with my MT4GS tonight is probably pushing it, so instead i'm just sitting here writing up what i've learned about learning, typing to me is very relaxing and keeps me active in spirit while mostly resting in the physical sense.
This is why they say knowledge is power, because you have to build knowledge on other knowledge. The more you understand and exploit the learning process to work for you, consciously and directly, the more natural and fluid it becomes.
If you learn what you need to learn to learn better (say that 3 times fast) you will become more efficient - and that's part of why we all get together here to do this stuff to our phones.
It's challenging, it's fun, it's a never-ending exercise in discovering cool new things or flat out creating brand new ideas of your own.
Part of what's been feeding my excitement with this phone, besides it's indisputable awesomeness, is the fact that it's new and there's an air of freshness to all the time being put into it. It's not like my last device where I showed up and found all the answers, this time I get to find and share some of them.
But that's the constant state of learning, the browsing all over XDA, setting up specific projects (tonight i'll learn how to make a livewallpaper, etc...) and creating manageable, short term goals along the road to a bigger destination.
The destination is reached much more interestingly with others, and when we all get there it's one big party together. This goal is made easier and sooner the more people that play.
Another thing is, I try to share what I post as thoroughly and accurately as possible. 2 Great reasons to take an extra minute and check something, or look it up again to make sure that it's right.
1-Someone else can build off your solid base, and spend less time learning what you were trying to convey
2-If i'm wrong, someone will speak up. There are so many learned people here, someone will see what I did wrong and if not why, someone else can probably explain it or get us started on finding out why.
So please, don't hesitate to correct me on something if you know i'm wrong. we all benefit from it, and is part of the motivation to be as thorough as I try to be.
Hope that the length of this post is justified by the content I tried to convey, you caught me in a typing mood with an open-ended question.
Blue6IX said:
You're honestly in the best place to start. XDA is home to some...thinking about it i'd say most... of the people online across all the random messageboards, news postings and whatnot who are all into the same thing and realize that by sharing what we know we can all work on bits and pieces of the larger picture.
Ever since I found XDA, I realized this was the place I was always looking for on the internet. Some of the most learned and skilled people i've met across the internet are scattered around these forums, and I found their works here.
The best advice to anyone new coming to XDA or trying to learn here, specifically, is that since so many people share so much, it's absolutely overwhelming the first time you wander around the XDA forums.
Use the search feature, as everyone rightly suggests, but the one thing that people never get right is managing their excitement.
You're home, you found the place where there are so many answers to and relating to your question, you get giddy. I know I did.
Resist the urge to just dive in and start asking questions. Put away your need to have the answer right now - I know it's just your nature, it's the tendency of people...any people...to just act like that. It's how we've progressed as a species, the aggresive need to know, solve, conquer...right this second.
That's wrong. When I found XDA, I browsed here for a while...sometimes for specific answers, other times just randomly through all the forums looking at...well...whatever random stuff I could find.
The thing about search is, it's great if you want a specific answer, because you keep finding more keywords and phrases to track down that will eventually lead you to the information you seek.
If you can't find the answer here at XDA, your quest to find it on your own without asking will turn up the people you could ask to help figure it out - something you miss just asking for it or exclusively using search.
Basically, just don't be too eager. The boards are way too big, populated by people that want to share what they know, so the amount of information here is too much to get through in one sitting. The first time I found this place I didn't leave my keyboard for more then a few minutes for almost 6 days.
I registered because I finally had something that I could share. My first device was the Nook Color, and by the time I got one the forums were jumping and so many choices for what you could do and how to do it were there ... it was my first android device and development was progressing so fast I couldn't keep up with learning it all from the ground up.
I stopped and focused on some topic I could expand on or in some way contribute, and it ended up being pretty in depth testing on MicroSD cards. I had a handful laying around, and running the Nook Color from the memory card instead of the internal memory will pass or fail depending on the memory card...and the one you instinctively want is wrong.
So, use the search function before posting something specific, don't forget to browse sometimes if you have some free time, it's like treasure hunting.
When I realized what this device ( MT4GS ) was capable of after coming to the MT4GS forums here to research if I really did want it or not...the TV-OUT thread was my seller. I am spellbound by this device, there's nothing else like it on the market at the moment.
I just couldn't miss out on playing with what I think will be the prototype model of what all phones will strive to do as technologies get assimilated across phones and carriers.
Being able to walk up to a TV and use the phone as not only an interactive game controller, but the console itself as well - with the TV bit being done so well that it's something you don't even have to think about other then if you want to or not. No special set up, just plug and play. I'm a fan.
But you know what? It's an unlisted feature that's rumored/probably true/unfinished in the phone.
( haven't looked into this in a while, maybe untrue but I found out about it here at XDA and remember reading that somewhere...every T-mobile rep i've seen has this phone, I talk to every one, and not a single one of them knew they could plug their device into a TV, let alone have some intense gaming experiences.
Not bad for something that's not mentioned - this should have been the selling point for the phone.
Thing is, without XDA, I wouldn't know how to do a fraction of what I know how to do with Android. Just sifting through everything here has taught me so much, but you have to have the patience to sit and take your time learning. Otherwise, even if you pull it off, six months from now you'll have to probably start over tracking down what you read before to do it again.
The more detailed and accurate the information that everyone posts, the more we all learn together.
Know what the big secret is, that I try to tell everyone?
The best way to cement the knowledge you've gained into your brain is to try to teach it to someone else. They'll think of questions you might never, approach from different perspectives with different tactics, and challenge you to know it well enough to be able to answer something you haven't thought about before on the spot.
I've been studying my whole life to be a teacher when I get older and can't hack physical stuff anymore, and try to freely teach anyone anything I know. The more I educate others, the more they educate me, and the more instinctively I know whatever we were working on.
Let me reiterate, again from a different perspective with different reasoning, the only way you learn something is to have the patience to do it - but the same goes for teaching. You have to have the patience to sit there and let the student get the answer, and the restraint to not give it to them and make them work for it so they remember it longer.
Analogies are king in getting through to people, but to be able to use analogies effectively for random people you have to be at least semi-educated on, well, everything.
Take a job in a retail store, any local big box popular electronics store. Sell computers, smart phones, or things like that. Then try to relate how the computer works to everyone you explain it to. Once you know some subject they are familiar with that you know, you can compare like functions to give them understandings.
Do yourself a favor - the next time you go to sit down in front of a television, pick up a book instead. (bonus points if you also grab a thesaurus)
Vocabulary and the contents of the thesaurus are the primary tools you need to use well for search. Forget all the ways a search engine works for you and remember that you need to not only search what you're looking for, but all the other ways of saying or describing what you want.
If you search fire, you get one set of results. What about ember, blaze, smolder, incinerate, char, smoke, fuel, tinder...etc...
If you have to look up all those synonyms every time you want to search for something, not only does it take longer (impatience again) but you are less likely to actually do it because of all the extra steps you have to take.
Phrase your posts well, try to punctualize, capitalize, and generally make what you're saying presentable. It takes me longer to decipher some internet shorthand, because they aren't acronyms I study. It hurts me on messageboards, but helps keep my vocabulary instinctively clean elsewhere.
On that turn, i'm more likely to read and/or respond to someone who actually took enough time to write their post, instead of just scratching out the first string of letters that looked close to some resemblance of the words they were trying to write.
( I know that's extreme, but that's another teaching tool, exploring extremes and understanding boundaries and capability - the foundation for your ability to reason )
So, you caught me at a time where i'm writing a curriculum for learning how to learn, techniques and approaches and such for someone I am going to start teaching android to. As much as it seems like i'm rambling here, all my postings tonight have been sprinkled with little methods or things to do to increase your speed, accuracy and ability to learn itself because that's what i'm working on right this minute.
It's been a long, hard, physical week at work. While rewarding and I feel great about what i've done, my body is not so happy at the moment. Trying to get into a new project with my MT4GS tonight is probably pushing it, so instead i'm just sitting here writing up what i've learned about learning, typing to me is very relaxing and keeps me active in spirit while mostly resting in the physical sense.
This is why they say knowledge is power, because you have to build knowledge on other knowledge. The more you understand and exploit the learning process to work for you, consciously and directly, the more natural and fluid it becomes.
If you learn what you need to learn to learn better (say that 3 times fast) you will become more efficient - and that's part of why we all get together here to do this stuff to our phones.
It's challenging, it's fun, it's a never-ending exercise in discovering cool new things or flat out creating brand new ideas of your own.
Part of what's been feeding my excitement with this phone, besides it's indisputable awesomeness, is the fact that it's new and there's an air of freshness to all the time being put into it. It's not like my last device where I showed up and found all the answers, this time I get to find and share some of them.
But that's the constant state of learning, the browsing all over XDA, setting up specific projects (tonight i'll learn how to make a livewallpaper, etc...) and creating manageable, short term goals along the road to a bigger destination.
The destination is reached much more interestingly with others, and when we all get there it's one big party together. This goal is made easier and sooner the more people that play.
Another thing is, I try to share what I post as thoroughly and accurately as possible. 2 Great reasons to take an extra minute and check something, or look it up again to make sure that it's right.
1-Someone else can build off your solid base, and spend less time learning what you were trying to convey
2-If i'm wrong, someone will speak up. There are so many learned people here, someone will see what I did wrong and if not why, someone else can probably explain it or get us started on finding out why.
So please, don't hesitate to correct me on something if you know i'm wrong. we all benefit from it, and is part of the motivation to be as thorough as I try to be.
Hope that the length of this post is justified by the content I tried to convey, you caught me in a typing mood with an open-ended question.
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You are king of long statements.
Sent from my Undeadk9's Senseless ROM using xda premium
[email protected] said:
Undeadk9... what an honer to reply to you. I've read all your posts. I wanna flash your latest Senseless..Sounds fast. I myself would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into this forum. You do a wonderful job. Your posts and comments mean alot. I'm such a noob but love phones and cpu's. I really would love to fluently learn how to do anything that involves those things,but have no idea where to begin. What would you suggest I learn? I ask because you know what your talking about. Do you mind if i contact you in a pm or something just to bleed your brain sometime? Think about it. Thanks again!!
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Honor? Im just an every day joe with ubuntu 11.04 and rom kitchen sprinkled with java on my laptop. that also makes roms. Lol.
Sent from my Undeadk9's Senseless ROM using xda premium
The only way I got around not being able to type the / character on my mt4gs keyboard in the terminal emulator when I flashed modaco was to type out the command line in a text message, copy, then paste in the emulator. Works like a charm.
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium
Bravo Blue6lX. That was very well written. Amazing. I personally can relate to a majority of what you spoke of in this post,my favorite being,"the one thing that people never get right is managing their excitement". I am a poster boy for that very same thing. Even in the real world I struggle with that. I have to take a second to breath,lol. When I signed on to this forum I read the rules and began my quest to further educate myself in Android... baby crying gotta run thanks again your posts are very inspiring! I enjoy reading them very much, your a wise man. Thesaurus on the list for the day!! Have a great day
[email protected] said:
Bravo Blue6lX. That was very well written. Amazing. I personally can relate to a majority of what you spoke of in this post,my favorite being,"the one thing that people never get right is managing their excitement". I am a poster boy for that very same thing. Even in the real world I struggle with that. I have to take a second to breath,lol. When I signed on to this forum I read the rules and began my quest to further educate myself in Android... baby crying gotta run thanks again your posts are very inspiring! I enjoy reading them very much, your a wise man. Thesaurus on the list for the day!! Have a great day
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Glad you got what I was trying to say. Looking back at it now that i've slept, showered, and got a pot of coffee in me i'd have written that a lot differently. I passed out right after posting that, when I got home I was so physically exhausted...yet too mentally awake to sleep. Normally i'd just browse around learning stuff on the computer and be rested, but I really needed to actually sleep.
I figure as long as I make sure anything I post in the developers section is as concise and clear as I can make it, what gets posted in these other sections can be a bit more general, but that posting was a bit convoluted even by my standards.
Not to drag your thread too far away from the original question, but once you free yourself from the "answer right now" impulse, XDA has several lifetimes worth of stuff to learn how to do just sitting here waiting for you to discover it.
The best way to get started is to just pick something, something small, and learn how to do it completely. Then go on from there. The other day I wanted to spend like a half an hour getting some icons...but one thing led to another which led to photoshop and a few hours later I had a new boot animation for my device I made from scratch.
It's not what I came here to do or to learn, wasn't even in my head when I sat down at the computer. But, I let myself just wander and followed the direction my interest evolved in and that's where I ended up. Sometimes that's the way it goes, and it was a fun experience.
You lose the opportunity for something like that to happen when you just ask a question and get spoon-fed an answer. I'm a big fan of the idea that if you really want to get something done, then just do it yourself. Why sit and wait for someone else to do it, while you could be spending that time doing it yourself. You need knowledge to be able to do that, though, and that's what XDA is a place to share.
The more quickly and completely you can process and assimilate the knowledge, the more you can learn in a shorter time with less frustration. It really pays to take the time to develop good habits and methods for learning.
The answer to whatever you want to know in most cases is not nearly as worthwhile as knowing how to figure out that answer.
Sometimes you just need a quick solution to fix something broken, the HTCLoggers security vulnerability is a great example of a valid "need a fix now" situation. Much thanks to undeadk9 for a quick resolution to that issue.
...but if it's not mission critical to do whatever it is right this second, why rush?
The easier you come by the answer, the easier you forget it.
That's why knowing how other related activities can help you across the spectrum of things you get involved in is important. Reading is a great example.
If you read books by a variety of authors, you pick up different ways of saying the same thing, are exposed to different words and so on. When you sit down to search for something, you now have many more avenues to travel in the breadth of keywords and phrases to use before hitting a dictionary or thesaurus or something. Consciously encouraging that fringe benefit of the activity of reading compounds it's effectiveness, because you will intentionally seek out authors that write differently then each other and maximize your gain for time invested.
Back to the subject at hand, the issue with terminal emulator. There are a couple of threads about this issue right here in the MT4GS section of XDA. If you browse through them, you will find different pieces of the puzzle sitting there.
Furthermore, you'll find people who have tested different terminal emulators, so you can ask them what they've found, or encourage them to share their findings to add information to the issue. You'll also find the other people interested in solving the problem, so sooner or later the right combination of people with the motivation, skills, and time to invest will come together in a thread and generate a solution.
...and that's why I love the open source community mindset of XDA. The gratification of "hey, look what I found!" is here, because it's all worthwhile. The puzzle isn't put together until we have all the pieces, and each one that is found and shared is one less to find. For the community as a whole, what you've found is just as important as how you share it.
Some people are great at figuring out what the puzzle pieces are. Others are great at creating those pieces. Other people shine at putting those pieces together to finish the picture. All those talents are expressed to some degree by the people coming through here, this place is amazing.
Now consider, if you just ask a question and get an answer, well, that's great for you or anyone with that exact problem. But for other people in the future trying to figure out that problem, that may not be so helpful.
What if someone comes through with the same problem, but a new firmware version or something where the solution doesn't work anymore. Generally speaking, the method used to find that solution would work again to generate a new, updated answer, but since only the answer and not the method was given...
So the "need it now" attitude really just impairs everyone's ability to move forward past a certain point, because then it gets into people asking questions that have already been answered...sometimes on that very page in the forum...because they didn't take a minute to see if the question had already been fielded and resolved.
I know XDA is huge and can be overwhelming, but having been with the MT4GS since there weren't many posts in this section of XDA, I already see it happening here too. It's just human nature, and some people don't even realize it.
So i'll leave it there, since you were asking about how to get the most out of using XDA, and this is just something i've observed in my time here.
"The answer to whatever you want to know in most cases is not nearly as worthwhile as knowing how to figure out that answer".
"The easier you come by the answer, the easier you forget it".
"So the "need it now" attitude really just impairs everyone's ability to move forward past a certain point".
Your a great teacher Blue6lx! I read your comments that you posted on this page more than a few times. I would have replied sooner if my daughter would've let me
I would like to know more of anything you want to say,so I'll be hearing from you! One way or another!
I ended up sliding the keyboard in and out for that since I am able to use the onscreen keyboard to use the "/". I Slide out for faster typing for everything else.
[email protected] said:
I ended up sliding the keyboard in and out for that since I am able to use the onscreen keyboard to use the / Slide out for faster typing,on screen for"/"
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While that works, it's an ugly solution. Don't worry, it's what I do too.
I remember reading a while ago here...someone swung by and asked if there had been any problems with the cable that carries the information from the keyboard half of the phone to the screen half.
Sliding in and out wears that cable out over time, and while it's way too early to see any issues arising from that cable wearing out yet because of how new the phone is, it's something to keep in mind.
It's a moving part, a piece of metal that bends (the wiring) when it's slid up and down. Even though it's designed to do it, from everything i've ever learned about physics and metal fatigue I know it'll wear out one day if the phone lasts that long.
I don't mind using it, it was made to take some amount of sliding, but as a developer using the phone in ways it wasn't exactly intended for, you have to be aware of the ways you create additional stresses on the device.
Do you think a normal user slides the phone out as much in a whole weeks worth of playing with it the amount of time you do in a single day working with terminal emulator?
Everything (except the stock battery) about this phone is pretty top of the line, I highly doubt that HTC cheaped out on a part they knew would wear out eventually on it's own, so don't think you're gonna break your cable tomorrow because you slid the keyboard out.
Just be aware of the above-normal stresses you can put on your device over the long term once you become more then a consumer-grade user.
So, yes, it's a solution, but not very elegant in it's execution.
My thoughts are the same. "Ugly solution".
From what I have observed, the text savvy user loves sliding that keyboard in and out. I have no doubt they realize this and built it to last... Let's hope they did not skimp in that area of their development
No one has said it. Try swype. I've used it a few times to get some unresponsive or jumbled as in getting ~ instead / to work or a pesky capital to stay lower case as in I and i .
Sent from my MyTouch 4G Slide using xda premium

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